Unsaid
by nytecat
Summary: She had watched her friend stumble, cheered her on and then finally let her go for the sake of love. Little did Youko Sagisawa know that Midori would come back.


**Title: Unsaid**

_Author's note: Inspired by a comment by Guubear about how hard it is to write Youko. Youko is one of those understated characters which if delved into would be tremendously interesting to know, I think. I've always wondered about her and Midori._

_Edit - 27 August 2007: Thanks to Hoppy-chan for pointing out my grammar hiccups (again).  
_

**Chapter 1 – The Return**

Looking back now, there was no cosmic sign that my life would change. No flaming bush. No revelation of any sort. But then again, I am a school nurse. What extraordinary occurrence could happen in my mundane routine? After all, excitement avoided me like the plague. And after finding out what happened during the Carnival, I decided that suited me just fine.

I had always wondered about how the Carnival had affected those fated to it. Shizuru and Natsuki seemed to have become a happy couple. Mai was a normal teenager again with only the burden of financial woes to worry about. Takumi and Akira were the envy of the school. Nao opened up to her classmates more and indeed was one of the popular students in school – hailed as the new Ice Queen (much to Natsuki's chagrin).

Yukino and Natsuki had put the nastiness of the Carnival behind them and now worked effectively as the feared Executive Director and Student Council President, respectively. Shiho and Tate started dating (good luck to him). Which no doubt did not bother Mai in the least as she began seeing Mikoto in a whole new light.

Yukariko became a teacher at the school, deciding to give up her calling as a nun to marry. Fumi, strangely became the new administrator of the school. From maid to school mistress – if only I could have a promotion like that.

And Midori...Midori had moved on and away.

As an outsider, I could only bear witness as these brave girls and women rebuilt their shattered lives, Other than advice, there was nothing else I could do. I think she realised that and left, smiling that irritating eternally cheerful smile; hiding whatever hurt that lurked within her. That damned woman.

Enough of my twisted reflections...

It was a day like any other. Well, a day like any other for me, that is.

"I swear, Arika, sometimes I wonder how do you always get into these accidents," I said, not bothering to keep the vexation out of my voice as I tweezed grit from out of her scrape, dropping the debris into a petri dish. The brunette flinched from the sting and her friend, Erstin, standing nearby, winced in mute sympathy. The blonde had the habit of being as quiet as a shadow. Arika, on the other hand, was her polar opposite.

Once that I was satisfied that the wound was clean, I reached for the bottle of antiseptic and gauze on my desk. Both girls watched apprehensively as I painted Arika's kneecap with the ointment using the gauze. The girls were still silent as I picked up a band-aid from the table top.

I knew that the quiet would not last.

"I don't know. Lucky, I guess? Anyway, my grandma always said that you must play hard, work hard and love hard! Otherwise, your life would be empty," Arika exploded suddenly, breaking the blissful silence. She gesticulated wildly as she talked as if conjuring her words into life. "Grandma also said pain builds character!"

Erstin looked flummoxed by her friend's statements. I was pretty much sure I too looked as confused as we both felt.

"Some day, I would like to meet this grandmother of yours," I replied peevishly. 'And give her a piece of my mind for teaching you such nonsense,' I added in my mind. "Now hold still," I said aloud as I peeled the band-aid over her scrape. The rubber gloves I wore made folding back the plastic covers on the adhesive hard. Arika squirmed, swivelling the stool slightly but otherwise stayed still. Once the band-aid was in place, I petted her abused knee lightly. "There. Now, you're good to go."

The brunette catapulted from the seat to her feet and nearly fell over, her legs still asleep from sitting so long. I steadied her.

"Easy. I don't want you to give me more work to do," I said as I let her go. "And Arika?"

Arika, who was showing off her bandaged knee to Erstin, looked up at me in confusion. I kept quiet for a moment, studying those two girls with a pang of infantile envy and brittle bitterness.

"Yes, Sagisawa-sensei?"

I made my voice as stern as winter. "I don't want to see you again at least for another week. Understand?"

Erstin giggled and I could not help grinning as well. A week would have been a miracle. Arika smiled, unfazed by my stern tone. "Roger that! Thank you, Sagisawa-sensei!"

The girl bobbed a bow, snatched up her friend's hand and bounded off, only stopping to slide the door open. Before she disappeared around the door, Erstin yelled out her thanks. As I pulled off my rubber gloves, I listened to the sound of pounding feet and Erstin's frantic protests echo and fade down the hallway. After they had left, the school was silent. No surprise since extracurricular activities had ended half an hour ago.

I tidied up my desk, throwing away the used gauzes, swipes and gloves; placing the tweezers and antibacterial solution back to where they belonged. I hurried through the task, eager to go home. Once done, I looked around the small cosy nurse's station. The spartan furnishings reminded me of a prison cell, devoid of warmth. I thought – if I listened hard enough – that I could hear the echoes of laughter. Her laughter.

Instead of opening up the space, the white ward walls seemed to close in like an impenetrable mist. Once, I had loved the solace and serenity of my nurse station. But that was a year ago. Now, I felt walled off and isolated from everything.

One final survey of the hated room then I scooped up my keys and handbag from a drawer in my desk; nudged my chair back in place with my foot; shrugged into my navy blue jacket and headed for the door. I stopped to turn off the lights, slid the door close and locked it. A necessary precaution in case a student gets the idea to steal medication for a fix.

Waves of shadows rippled along the hallway bathed in auburn light. Outside the windows that lined the far wall, the sun was calling it a day, turning the sky into a molten golden tent over the skeletal treetops.

As I stepped outside a stiff Autumn breeze whipped me. I had to walk over a carpet of decaying leaves to get to my car in the teacher's parking area. They crackled and snapped with every step. Wraith-like sounds in the deserted school. I felt like I was walking over a graveyard of bones.

I had thought the school abandoned so imagine my shock when I came round the corner and saw someone was here. A young woman sat on the hood of my blue Volkswagen Beetle convertible.

The woman's face was turned to watch the withered trees stir in the cold wind. All I saw was a dance of burnished crimson as her unbound hair was caressed by another breeze. I turned my inspection to her clothes. Her black denim jacket was tugged by another gust, flapping open to reveal a cherry red tube top underneath that barely reached her faded jeans. I realised with a start that she was tapping her booted heels against the hood of my Beetle. If there was a scratch, I would...

As if sensing my malicious gaze, she turned towards me. Laughing forest-green eyes returned my study. Then, she smiled.

The sight was like a knife in the heart.

"Midori..." I said finally, my voice weaker than watered down beer.

"Yo!" she replied with a cocky wave and brazen grin. A casual greeting as if she had not been gone for over a year, braving untold dangers in her treacherous archaeological quests. The fool. Still, I had trouble keeping my own smile from my face.

My lips had barely begun to curl when she tackled me with a hard hug, shooting off the car hood like a blazing comet. Her scent. Her warmth. They were exactly how I remembered them. My hands crept up to stroke her red tresses but I stopped myself in time. Instead, I held her gently even though I wanted to crush her to me.

"Oh, I've missed you so much," she said, her voice filled with genuine warmth.

The blade in my heart twisted. How could such simple words leave me undone?

The embrace was brief, ended by her. She stepped back, sweeping back her hair over an ear. It was then that I noticed things I had not noticed moments before. Perhaps due to the euphoria wearing off. Her eyes had dark circles under them and had an aged look about them. She looked weary. More so, she had felt thin under her garments. Worry wormed inside of me as I then spotted a ragged camouflaged duffel bag by the tyre of my car.

My throat worked but no sound came out. When I had imagined our reunion in my mind, it was never like this. All the witty remarks which I had rehearsed again and again died. I wanted to ask what was wrong but seeing her standing there, only a few footsteps away, it was as if an ocean separated us.

"Youko?" she said then. Her eyes searched my own as if she feared something was wrong.

I smiled then and shook my head ruefully, dispelling my worries. Questions, I decided, could come later.

"Fancy catching up over a martini?" I asked.


End file.
